Not Simply Organic, Oregon Farm Finds Success in Embrace of Technology and Sustainable Principles

Bill and Karla Chambers of Stahlbush Island Farms. Photo Credit: Stahlbush Island Farms.

When Bill and Karla Chambers founded Stahlbush Island Farms in 1985, their goal was to not only grow certified organic produce but also to integrate sustainability into all aspects of their operation. In 1997, Stahlbush Island Farms was certified sustainable by Food Alliance (FA).

“Sustainability is a journey, not an end point,” says Stahlbush Island Farms marketing executive Emily J. Hall. “It’s about having an ongoing philosophy regarding how you operate as a company, and making the right choices every day.” Read More

Gills Onions Taps Sustainable Methods to Bring Tears of Profitable Joy

Steven Gill, co-owner of Gills Onions in the field. Photo Credit: Gills Onions.

It’s enough to make you cry. Gills Onions is one of the largest family-owned onion farming operations in the nation. But the Oxnard-based facility doesn’t just grow the tears-provoking vegetable. They control every aspect of production from growing, harvesting, processing, packing and shipping the bulbs in handy, diced up packages to retailers, food service outlets and industrial manufacturers throughout the nation and Canada. And they do so using some surprising sustainable production practices that have lowered their operating costs over a million dollars a year.

Allen Gill had been farming in California’s Central Valley since the 1940s when he brought sons Steven and David into his Rio Farms business. Read More

Family Farm in Amesbury, MA Keeps it Local and Sustainable, Profits from Selling Close to Home

Glenn Cook of Cider Hill Farm. Photo: Karen Cook.

For Glenn and Karen Cook of Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, MA, sustainability is more than just a catch phrase. On their 145-acre farm the family’s composting practices have significantly increased soil organic matter. By employing solar panels and wind turbines, Cider Hill Farm also provides itself with 95% of the electricity that it needs to operate.

I recently spoke with Glenn Cook to learn more about how his family farm evolved, the challenges that it faces, and his future goals for the farm. Read More

To Power Hydroponic Operations on the Cheap, Ag Startup Seeks to Turn Wind into Water

Scarcity of clean water poses an enormous threat to food security around the world. Both in the developing world, including China and India, and even here in the United States, farmers increasingly face the arduous challenge of obtaining sufficient clean water to grow crops. Faced with this daunting challenge, the team behind the GreenTop platform developed an innovative system that uses wind power to capture atmospheric water moisture, which in turn is used to grow fruits and vegetables hydroponically. By creating an affordable, scalable technology that relies solely on renewable energy, the GreenTop platform enables farmers to boost food production, particularly in developing countries where the climate is arid, arable land scarce and access to clean water limited. Read More

Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center Receives $6.5M Grant for Biogas, Bioenergy Research

News Release — WOOSTER, Ohio – Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) has received a $6.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy to test and expand a university-developed technology that can produce biogas from a variety of solid organic wastes and bioenergy crops.

Awarded through the Biomass Research Development Initiative (BRDI), the three-year grant will also allow researchers to develop technology for converting biogas to liquid hydrocarbon fuels, with the aim of further diversifying the country’s currently available suite of renewable transportation fuels. Read More

USDA Announces Funding to Help Ag Producers Integrate Renewable Energy Tech into Operations

News Release – WASHINGTON – Oct. 19, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced funding for 244 projects nationwide that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy consumption and costs, and use renewable energy technologies in their operations. Funding is made available through USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Read More

Penn State Led Research Project Receives $10 Million Grant to Develop Perennial Feedstock Production Systems

News Release — UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Northeast could help lead the way to a renewable-energy-based economy by utilizing marginal and abandoned land to grow energy crops such as perennial grasses and fast-growing woody plants.

That’s the goal of a new research and education project led by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and supported by a $10 million grant, Read More

USDA Announces Funding for Projects to Boost Renewable Energy Production, Reduce Energy Consumption

News Release – DES MOINES, IOWA, August 14, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 106 projects in 29 states, Guam and Puerto Rico have been selected for funding to produce renewable energy and make energy efficiency improvements. Funding is made available through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which is authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill. Read More

USDA Announces Funding for Projects to Boost Renewable Energy Production, Reduce Energy Consumption

News Release – HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina, June 25, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has selected for funding 450 projects nationwide, including 31 in North Carolina, that are focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy consumption and costs; use renewable energy technologies in their operation; and/or conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy projects. Funding is made available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which is authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill. Read More

USDA Announces Additional 9,000 Acres for Non-Food Energy Crop Production

News Release – WASHINGTON, June 13, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today $9.6 million for the creation of two new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in New York and North Carolina, and the expansion of an already established BCAP project area in Arkansas. The announcement provides the opportunity to expand the nation’s non-food, energy crops used in the manufacturing of liquid biofuels and to help meet state mandated Renewal Portfolio Standards (RPS). Read More

New Hampshire Egg Farmers Support Network of Family Farms to Tune of 500,000 Sustainably Laid Eggs A Day

Photo: Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs

Jesse LaFlamme’s family has been farming eggs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for four generations. Once large-scale egg-farmers with chickens stacked in battery cages, today the family has become the largest producer of organic and cage-free eggs in New England.

The decision to convert to organic production and cage-free barns first arose as a business strategy. Read More